- Purple Heart recipients
- Former prisoners of war
- All veterans with service-connected disabilities
- Individuals approved and designated as the primary family caregivers of eligible veterans enrolled under the Department of Veterans Affairs Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers
Daniel Degrave in the new Automotive Skills Center.
I was born and raised in Kearneysville, West Virginia were I started my interest in automotive. I had two friends that were brothers; their dad was into drag racing and had a 1972 Nova. At the age of 8, I would stand around and watch Mike and Sam help their dad work on the car and get it ready for the following Sunday to go race at Mason Dixon Dragway. I would go to the races with them riding in the back of their dad’s Chevy stepside, trailering the race car. That was when it was still legal for people to ride in the bed of a truck. From the first drag race that I went to with the loud and fast race cars and the smell of burning rubber and Cam2 racing fuel, I was hooked.
Fast forward until the age of 14. My dad had a 1971 Ford F100 4x4 truck with 360 cubic inch engine and 4 speed transmission (That 1st gear was a granny gear). It had been sitting in our yard for 10 years, rotting away, so I started tinkering around trying just to get it running. With the help of a family friend that had a salvage yard, I would go over and pick his brain about what steps I should take to troubleshoot getting the truck started. He would let me take what parts I needed and I paid for them by mowing his grass. I started by replacing the battery, then part by part until I got it running. My mother came out one day and told me, “I do not know why you are spending your money and time on that piece of junk. You will never be able to get it out of the yard.” That got me motivated to do just that; drive it out of the back yard.
After I finally got the truck running, I ran into another problem; the brakes would not work. So once again, I was at Mr. Bloomer’s salvage yard. He seen that I was having a passion for automotive, so he told me to go down to the local NAPA parts store and pick up a Chitons Manual for the truck. Off I went to the parts store with my dad to buy the manual with the money that I get from mowing yards around the neighborhood. A few parts and couple of hundred dollars later, the truck was running (smokes a little bit) and the brakes worked. I find myself doing burnouts in the backyard while my parents were not home, tearing up the grass while slinging mud into the neighbor’s yard because I did not have my driver’s license yet. I had to practice driving a manual transmission somehow. Now it’s 1994 and I finally get my license. First thing I do when I get home, I run into the house, grab the truck keys and out the backyard to the truck. Mom standing at the driveway shaking her head. I stop the truck and roll down the window and tell her, “It’s out of the back yard.” I was on my way to enter it into the county fair truck-pull, but I was not able to compete because I was not yet old enough, so dad does it for me. Here he comes down the track with the sled behind him and the truck smoking bad. That was the proudest moment of my life, until my first daughter was born.
So at this time, I have a part-time job working for a family friend that owned a small garage, Sunny’s Auto, as an apprentice. I learned that I had 8 out of the 18 valve pushrods bent. My friend Dave and I were both 15 at the time and had no idea what we were doing. With the advice from Dave’s dad and all my other gearhead advisors, we started tearing into the engine to remove it from the truck, because if I was going to get into truck-pulling, I needed a good motor. This time, it was a few thousand dollars. Dave and I rebuilt our first engine together in my back yard. When we finally got everything put together, it was time to see how we did. At 2 a.m., I crank the engine and it fires up the first try, loud as heck because it was still open header for the exhaust. My sister comes screaming out of the house, “Do you know what time it is?” As I am revving the engine up, saying, “What I cannot hear you.” I still laugh about that.
Tell us a little about your automotive and professional background.
I started my professional background when I was 15 as an apprentice at Sonny’s Garage. I joined the Army and was a 63B H8 (Light Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic Tow Truck Operator). After I got out of the Army, I was going to Pikes Peak Community College for Automotive while working at American Motorcycles as an apprentice and then moved up to Shop Foreman working on Harleys, Big Dog Choppers, and Indians. I got my Bachelor’s degree at Florida Technical College for Business Management. Worked at Fort Wainwright as tow truck operator and then the Assistant Manager. Now, I am here and so excited to be able to be a part of the MWR team as the Auto Skills Center Facility Manager.
How long have you been with USAG Humphreys MWR?
I have only been with Humphreys MWR since August, but I have worked for the Fort Wainwright Alaska Auto Skills Center for 2 and a half years. I have been waiting 7 years to be able to get back into an MWR Auto Skills Center.
Another view of the new Automotive Skills Center facility.
What’s your favorite feature about the new Auto Skills Center facility?
I just like that fact that it is much larger than the 2 bays that we currently have so that we can accommodate for more Soldiers and all other patrons.
How do you see the Auto Skills Center developing in the next few years?
We will be offering more classes other than the Basic Car Care class that we have now.
What services can the community continue to use at Bldg. 421 until the new facility opens?
The community can continue to use the current Auto Skills Center for all their basic car care. We will still be doing safety inspections and conducting minor maintenance and repairs for customers.
Who can use the Auto Skills Center? Are there any steps or classes that are mandatory for facility usage?
All members of the community that are eligible to use MWR facilities have equal opportunity. First come, first served. They have also just added:
Patrons will be required to take the Safety and Orientation Class before they are able to use the facility for DIY work. For the first month, we will be offering the Safety and Orientation Class every Monday, Thursday and Friday at 5:30 p.m. to allow everyone to be able to get to the class to start using the facility.
What’s your favorite upgrade or modification you’ve done on a car?
I don’t have a favorite upgrade that I have done; I just like being able to troubleshoot the problem and fix the car. I have fully restored my 1965 Mustang (Isabella). I stripped it all the way down, replaced and rebuilt the entire car.
What’s the first car you owned?
First car that I owned was a 1971 Ford F100 4x4 pick-up (Beast).
Daniel Degrave's 1965 Ford Mustand Coupe, "Isabella"
What’s your favorite or dream car?
My favorite dream car is my 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe (Isabella), with a 289 cubic inch with a 4 speed manual transmission that I have had for 19 years. It is my daily driver, but sits in storage now that I am over here in Korea. I bought it from an old First Sergeant that his dad bought brand new off the showroom floor for only $2,868 when I was stationed in Germany. That is another story that you can ask me later.
Please share a winter driving tip.
When temperatures are freezing, be careful with what looks to be wet roads. It may look like the roads are just wet, but it could be black ice. If you are not careful, one will not be able to stop if you have to suddenly.
Do you have an auto repair music playlist? If not, what gets you in the zone?
I just like to listen to some old school rock-n-roll when working on cars. I like to cruise in my Mustang and listen to 50’s and 60’s rock. My girls love it when the song Mustang Sally comes on the radio and we are riding in my Mustang.
What makes you laugh? (Tell us a joke)
Why does the new Chevy’s have heated bumpers? So it keeps your hands warm when you have to push them in the winter.
Statements of opinion are not representative of Family and MWR.
Click here to learn more about our Automotive Skills Center and its services.
